Air processing unit

ABSTRACT

AN AIR PROCESSING SYSTEM INCLUDING A UNIT HAVING A HOUSING WITH INLET AND OUTLET PORTS, A FAN FOR DRAWING AIR INTO THE INLET PORT AND FORCING IT OUT THE OUTLET PORT, A ROTATABLE DISPERSION SHELL HAVING A DISPERSING SURFACE EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE SHELL FOR CREATING, FROM WATER DIRECTION AGAINST IT, A MOIST ATMOSPHERE BETWEEN THE INLET AND OUTLET PORTS, A RESERVOIR OF WATER ASSOCIATED WITH THE HOUSING, A PUMP FOR MOVING WATER FROM THE RESERVOIR AND DIRECTING IT AGAINST THE DIS-   PERSING SURFACE, DRIVE MEANS FOR DRIVING THE FAN, THE PUMP, AND THE DISPERSION SHELL, AND FURTHER INCLUDING MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE HOUSING TO A VEHICLE CAB, A TRANSPARENT ENCLOSURE INCLUDED WITH THE VEHICLE CAB FOR PREVENTING LOSS OF PROCESSED AIR FROM THE CAB WHILE INCREASING THE FIELD OF VIEW, AND A RELIEF MECHANISM TO PREVENTL EXCESSIVE PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN THE CAB.

Jan. 5, 1 971 a. J.- GR IASSEILER 3552,

AIR PROCESSING UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheeti Original Filed Nov. 24, 1967.

GEORGE J. GRASSELER INVENTOR.

Jaril j- 71 G.- J. GR-ASSELER ,5

' AIR PROCESSING UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Ffil ed Nov. 24, 1967GEORGE J. am 55515? INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent Ofice Patented Jan. 5, 1971 3,552,097 AIRPROCESSING UNIT George John Grasseler, Stow, Mass, assignor to G & G

Engineering Corporation, Watertown, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts Original application Nov. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 685,449, nowPatent No. 3,472,147, dated Oct. 14, 1969. Divided and this applicationJan. 29, 1969, Ser. No. 822,335

Int. Cl. 801d 47/ l 6 U.S. Cl. 55-230 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An air processing system including a unit having a housingwith inlet and outlet ports, a fan for drawing air into the inlet portand forcing it out the outlet port, a rotatable dispersion shell havinga dispersing surface extending in the direction of the axis of rotationof the shell for creating, from water directed against it, a moistatmosphere between the inlet and outlet ports, a reservoir of waterassociated with the housing, a pump for moving water from the reservoirand directing it against the dispersing surface, drive means for drivingthe fan, the pump, and the dispersion shell, and further including meansfor mounting the housing to a vehicle cab, a transparent enclosureincluded with the vehicle cab for preventing loss of processed air fromthe cab while increasing the field of view, and a relief mechanism toprevent excessive pressure build-up in the cab.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 685,449, filed Nov. 24, 1967,now Pat. No. 3,472,147, issued on Oct. 14, 1969.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates to air processing systemsand, more particularly, to such systems for cleaning, cooling,moistening, and pressurizing air supplied to vehicle cabs.

Operators of heavy-duty vehicles such as farm machinery, heavyconstruction equipment and street sweepers often suifer serious healthproblems due to the contamination and dust in the air that they breathein the vehicle cabs. In addition, the hot, dusty, often very dry air inthe cab contributes heavily to the discomfort of the operators so thatexperienced operators for such vehicles may be expensive to employ, maywork for only short periods, and are in short supply.

Attemps to use air coolers, air cleaners and other types of airconditioners to provide clean cool air to the cabs has met withindifferent success. Contemporary air processing units are heavy bulky,and often expensive. Many of the units require much attention andservicing to keep them operating properly. Often the units haveelaborate structures for keeping an internal filter member moist forincreased air filtering efficiency; some units have used a whirling discto hurl water at the filter.

Often the apparatus may be ineffective because its function of supplyinguncontaminated air is rendered ineffective by the abundance ofcontaminated air entering the cab through cracks and leaks in thestructure. In addition, the operators of these machines often must opencab doors or windows in order to observe the area immediately adjacentthe vehicle body or proximate the operative mechanism of the machine.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is further desirable to provide an inexpensiveand compact air processing unit which converts hot, dusty air to cool,clean air and which is adaptable for use in an air processing system.

It is further desirable to provide such a unit for humidifying the airas it is being cleaned.

It is further desirable to have such a unit providing a large volume ofmoist atmosphere for washing the air and for moistening an internalfilter as well.

It is further desirable to provide such a system which is inexpensive tomanufacture and install, and which requires a minimum of service in use.

It is further desirable to provide such a system for use in a vehiclecab having a transparent enclosure for preventing loss of the cleaned,cooled air to the contaminated atmosphere outside the cab whileproviding the operator with the required vantage point for observingcertain movements and portions of the vehicle.

It is further desirable to provide such a system capable of maintainingthe internal pressure of the cab at a level practically required toprevent leakage of air from outside the cab to inside the cab.

It is further desirable to provide means for limiting the pressuredifferential between the inside of the cab and the outside of the cab.

The invention may be accomplished by an air processing system includinga unit comprising a housing havng an inlet port for receiving air to beprocessed and an outlet port for delivering the processed ar, means formoving air into the inlet port and out the outlet port, a rotatabledispersion shell having a dispersing surface extending in the directionof the axis of rotation of the shell for creating from fluid directedagainst it a moist atmosphere between the ports, a fluid reservoirassociated with the housing, pump means for moving fluid from thereservoir and directing it against the dispersing surface, drive meansfor driving the dispersion shell and the pump means.

Other embodiments may include means for mounting the housing to avehicle cab, a transparent enclosure included in the vehicle cab forpreventing loss of processed air from the cab without impairing thefield of view, and a relief mechanism to prevent excessive pressure inthe cab.

DISCLOSURE OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Other objects, features, andadvantages will appear from the following description of a preferredembodiment, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a portion of a vehicle cab with an air processingsystem according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a enlarged, elevational, cross-sectional view of the aircleaning and cooling unit of the system according to this invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially broken away plan view of the unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an enclosure with a relief valve for usein the system according to this invention.

In a specific embodiment the invention is practiced by installing an aircleaning and cooling unit 10 in the roof 12 of a vehicle cab 14 which issubstantially sealed against air leakage. A relief valve may be used toprevent pressure differential between the cab interior and the externalatmosphere from exceeding a predetermined, comfortable level, such as Zor 3 pounds per square inch. To permit an operator in the cab to lookout, down, or along the vehicle without opening a door or window andleaning his head through the opening, thereby losing the clean, cooledair provided by unit 10 and admitting unprocessed outside air, atransparent enclosure 16 may be provided either integral with, ordetachable from, the cab. Enclosure 16 improves the field of view of theobserver by extending the plane of vision beyond the normal contours ofcab 14 so that portions of the cab do not block the view. The reliefvalve 18 may be mounted in enclosure 16 in the lower horizontal wall 20which may also be transparent.

Unit 10 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. Unprocessed air is drawn intounit 10 through screened ports 22 and 24 in end walls 26 and 28,respectively, extending between upper and lower walls 30 and 32 whichtogether with side walls 31 and 33, FIG. 3, form housing 34 mounted toroof 12, such as by bolts 36 and 38. Unprocessed air is drawn into unit10 by fan 40, driven on shaft 42 by motor 44, and situated in circularport 46 which has upstanding rim 48. Motor 44 is supported by bracket 50suspended at diametrically opposed positions 52, 54 from raised portion56 of lower wall 32 adjacent to rim 48.

Sealably connected to shaft 42 between fan 40 and motor 44 is web 58which interconnects shaft 42 and cylindrical dispersing surface 60 toform a unitized shell 62 rotatable with shaft 42 and sealed to it. Asecond shaft 64 driven by motor 44 extends downward through seal 66 inhorizontal portion 68 of bracket 50, through casing 70, fastened toportion 68 at flange 72, through seal 74 in pump housing, 76, andterminates at pump blade 78. As shaft 64 is driven by motor 44, water80, drawn through an inlet not shown in housing 76 from reservoir 82, ispumped by blade 78 through apertures 84 and 86 in housing 76 to conduits88 and 90, respectively, which direct the water at opposite sides ofdispersing surface 60 as it is rotated by shaft 42.

The water directed against spinning dispersing surface 60 is atomized toform a large volume of moist atmosphere 92 through which unprocessed airis driven by fan 40. The moist atmosphere provides a number of usefulfunctions: as the unprocessed air moves through moist atmosphere 92, thedust particles are caught in the moisture and precipitated out of theair; the moisture evaporates, cooling the air; the moist atmosphere andwater droplets dispersed by surface 60 soak filter 94, thereby improvingits filtering qualities; relative humidity of the air is increased. Theair leaving filter 94 passes through conduits 96 and 98, partiallyformed by lower wall 32 and side walls 31 and 33, and exits into cab 14through vents 100 and 102.

Filter 94 rests in peripheral lip 104 mounted to roof 12, such as bybolts 106, 108 which may also serve to fasten reservoir 82 by means offlange 110 to the underside of roof 12. Lip 104 contains drain holes forpermitting excess water in filter 94 to drip down into reservoir 82, forwhich purpose lip 104 preferably is positioned within the peripheral ofreservoir 82. The bottom 112 of reservoir 82 is preferably sloped towardone side where is located a drain cock 116 to permit removal of dirtywater.

The elongated cylindrical shape of surface 60 disperses the water over alarge area to form an extended volume of moist atmosphere: the increasedvolume of moist air increases the duration and extent of exposure ofincoming air to the cleansing properties of the moist air and providesincreased washing and filtering of the incoming air. In addition, theelongated shape of surface 60 insures more positive saturation of filter94 in the vertical dimension.

The particular configuration of unit 10 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is not requiredby the invention. For example, filter 94 may be positioned before orafter atmosphere 92 or may be completely eliminated; fan 40 may beoriented in any direction or be made unnecessary by movement through anair mass of the vehicle on which unit 10 is mounted; fan 40, shell 62,and pump blade 78 may be driven by separate motors. or by separatetransmission devices through the same motor: shell 62 may be conical.scmispherical. or any of various other geometric shapes which willsubstantially extend along its axis of rotation;

surface 60 need not be a complete surface in the direction of rotationand web 58 need not be sealably interconnected between surface 60 andshaft 42; the number and arrangement of means for directing water tosurface 60 is not restricted to that shown. The fluid used to clean andcool the air in unit 10 need not be water; other suitable fluid orfluids, or combinations thereof, may as well be used.

Motor 44 may be driven with power derived from the vehicle in which itis mounted through an on-off switch having provision for two fan speedsthat provide air flow at either 500 or 1000 cubic feet per minute. Airflow at these rates causes an increase in pressure in enclosed spacessuch as the vehicle cab shown in FIG. 1, so that the clean air at higherpressure is forced out through minor cracks and leaks in the cab,thereby preventing dirty air, at lower pressure, from being forced intothe cab through those same leaks and cracks.

In much of the equipment in which the invention is used, the operator inthe cab must often view the ground or the operating mechanism-plows,brushes, etc-near the body or the cab of the vehicle. Generally this isdone in open cabs by leaning over the side or in closed cabs by leaningout open doors or windows. For best efficiency the cab should be closedso that some pressure differential over external atmospheric conditionscan be maintained. To provide a pressurized cab and yet permit the planeof the operators field of view to extend beyond the cab and/or vehicleportions, the system includes transparent enclosure 16, FIG. 4, whichmay be either integral with the cab or detachable therefrom. Enclosure16 includes a transparent section 120 substantially parallel to andspaced from cab 14 by a peripheral wall 122 having front 124, rear 126,upper 128, lower 20, and inclinedforward 132 sections, any one or all ofwhich may be formed of transparent material. These sections are disposed in a rigid frame 134 which, if the enclosure is to be separate anddetachable from the cab, may be provided with mounting flange 136 forlocating mounting bolts 137, gaskets, and the like. The frame andsections, especially the transparent sections, are preferably made ofabrasive-resistant material to permit deposits of dust accumulating onthem in the statically charged atmosphere of the cab to be wiped fromthem without scratching and marring their finish and impairing theirtransparency.

Relief valve 18 shown mounted in enclosure 16 in FIGS. 1 and 4 may aswell be mounted in other parts of the cab. When enclosure 16 is formedas a detachable member it is preferable to have valve 18 mounted in theenclosure so that attaching the enclosure simultaneously installs therelief valve. Relief valve 18 includes a housing 140 with a mountingflange 142 at one end. Inner vent hole 144 opens into a conical seat 146at the upper end of bore 148. Lower vent hole 150 adjoins an annular lip152 that supports spring 154 which biases ball 156 upward against seat146 in the normally closed position. When the pressure at seat 146exceeds that at seat 150 by two pounds per square inch, the force ofspring 154 is overcome and the valve opens to vent the excess pressure.

Other embodiments of the air processing system and the cleaning andcooling unit will ocur to those skilled in the art and are within thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An air processing unit comprising:

a housing having an inlet port for receiving air to be processed and anoutlet port for delivering the proccessed air;

means for moving air into said inlet port and out said outlet port;

a rotatable imperforate dispersion shell having a dispersing surfaceextending in the direction of the axis of rotation of said shell forcreating from fluid directed against it a moist atmosphere in anuninterrupted space surrounding said shell between said ports;

a fluid reservoir associated with said housing;

pump means for moving fluid from said reservoir and directing itgenerally radially against said dispersing surface;

drive means for driving said dispersion shell and said pump means; and,

web means sealingly'engaged with the drive shaft of said drive means andwith said dispersing surface for preventing moisture from descending tosaid drive means from said moist atmosphere.

2. The unit of claim 1 in which said means for moving air is a fan andsaid fan is driven by said drive means.

3. The unit of claim 1 further including filter means between said portsfor filtering air passing between said ports.

4. The unit of claim 3 in which said dispersion shell is positionedbetween said inlet port and said filter means for providing said moistatmosphere between said inlet port and said filter means.

5. The unit of claim 3 in which said filter means is positionedproximate said dispersion shell and is maintained in a moist conditionby fluid dispersed by said dispersing surface.

6. The unit of claim 1 in which said dispersing surface extendscompletely around said drive means in the direction of rotation of saiddispersion shell.

7. The unit of claim 1 in which said web means interconnects said driveshaft and dispersing surface and transmits rotary motion between them.

8. The unit of claim 1 in which said dispersion shell extends from theupper end of said drive means downwards in the direction of the axis ofrotation of said dispersion shell.

9. The unit of claim 1 in which said dispersing surface is a cylindricalsurface.

10. The unit of claim 1 in which said pump means includes conduit meansextending proximate said dispersion shell for directing fluid againstsaid dispersing surface.

11. The unit of claim 1 in which the axis of rotation of said dispersionshell is vertical.

12. The unit of claim 1 further including a mounting member connected tosaid housing for mounting said system through a partition with saidinlet port in one side of said partition and said outlet port in theother.

13. The unit of claim 1 including a mounting element for positioningsaid unit in an exterior wall of a vehicle cab with said inlet port onthe outside of said cab and said outlet port on the inside of said cab.

14. The unit of claim 13 in which said housing is mounted in the roof ofsaid cab.

15. The unit of claim 1 in which the fluid directed against saiddispersing surface to form the moist atmosphere is water which increasesthe humidity of the air being processed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,557,276 6/1951 Gerow 26l283,193,261 7/1965 Nesbitt 26129X 3,294,376 12/1966 Eranosian 261-91X3,348,830 10/1967 Pearl et a1. 261-89 FRANK W. LUTTER, Primary ExaminerV. H. GIFFORD, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

